Apple vs Microsoft: The race is on

According to international reports, Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, predicted the death of the PC last week. Jobs said that the tablet could take its place. Microsoft’s dominance in the PC market, where its Windows software runs on more than 90 per cent of computers, is under threat from the new breed of tablet computers.

Ballmer agreed that the move towards tablets signalled a time of “tumult” in the market, but said that Microsoft would continue to prosper. He added that Microsoft’s Windows would be featured on the new breed of touchscreen tablet PCs.

Apple has taken the lead in the tablet market, selling more than two million of its iPad tablets in two months. Apple also recently surpassed Microsoft in market value.

The competition does not stop at the Apple iPad, however; Google is collaborating on tablets that integrate a modified version of its Android operating system, which has proved increasingly popular on smartphones, while Hewlett-Packard will likely push its own multitouch devices using its newly acquired Palm WebOS. 

Apple and Microsoft will host competing conferences this week for IT pros and developers. While Apple gets its iGroove on with the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, Microsoft will lure techie professionals to New Orleans for TechEd.